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Real World Libertarians
Real World Libertarians are pragmatists. Real World Libertarians believe that it is more important to get candidates elected to reduce the size of government than it is to maintain ideological purity. The believe is that the Libertarian Party gains support from mainstream voters when the most radical proposals are NOT the center piece of campaigns. Libertarianism combines the fiscal responsibility that the GOP pays lip service to with the personal choice and freedom that the Democrats claim to support. What other party will support tax cuts and oppose the Federal Marriage amendment? Read our vision statement and join the caucus! Why are we here? The Libertarian Party has been in existence for over 30 years. In that time we have managed to get ZERO federal level candidates elected, ZERO statewide candidates elected, and a negligible number of local candidates. Free market economics would dictate that if you’ve had a product for 30 years and no one has bought it, then you are facing one of three problems: 1) No one wants your product, 2) you face anti-competitive practices by your competitors, or 3) you have no clue how to sell your product. If you accept that the problem is the product, then you probably are not a member of the Libertarian Party. If you accept that the problem is the two major parties then the LP can never succeed and your only options are armed resistance or exile. However if you think that the problem with the LP has been the sales strategy it’s been pursuing over the past 30 years then you might be a Real World Libertarian. The Real World Libertarian caucus was formed to try and reform our party. We have a lot of truly dedicated activists, but the problem with truly dedicated activists is that to be so dedicated they tend to lose touch with the needs of the American people. We focus on issues that aren’t of interest to the average American, and ignore their basic desire to just be left alone. This trend towards radicalism has hurt the movement in its efforts to attract supporters and new activists. Examples of this abound, from people who call those who don’t support the party “dogs” to those activists who quote long dead economists and philosophers to candidates that turn themselves blue. The voice of the LP is its activists and if those activists are perceived as “out-there” then the LP will be perceived as “out-there”. We can’t drive out the radicals in our party. That is not our way, and their dedication and strength of belief help keep the moderates in the party focused on our goal of greater personal freedoms. But even though we can’t drive them out we can drown them out. A mass movement of well spoken moderates promoting libertarianism and the LP can overcome the impression of being a fringe movement. What can the Real World Libertarian Caucus do? * We can promote a real world vision of the Party and Libertarianism * We can provide tools and resources to real world activists to promote a positive non-confrontational view of the party. * We can help find real world candidates that can actually get elected. * We can help fund real world candidates to help get them elected * We can help move the LP in a more mainstream direction by increasing the number of moderate real world members * We can attract real world activists who will further the work we have started. Mission ssion TThe mission of the Real World Libertarian Caucus is to recruit and support Real World Candidates for public office; to reform the culture and structure of the Libertarian Party to make it more mainstream; and to redefine the public perception of the LP to move public policy in a more libertarian direction. Vision We believe the core value of the Libertarian Party is individual freedom. We do not believe it is the business of government to tell people how to live their lives. It is the right of all individuals to live their life however they see fit, so long as they do not interfere in the right of others to do the same. We believe that governments are instituted among men to secure the blessings of life, liberty and the property. Real World Libertarians believe that the Libertarian Party has lost sight of this. Too much emphasis has been placed on utopian concepts such as non-initiation of force while too little emphasis has been placed on fulfilling the actual functions of a political party. In short, the Libertarian Party has spent too much time serving as a philosophical think tank and too little time working on ways to apply its core principle of individual freedom to the real world we live in. We reject anarchism as a valid method of human interaction. Governments _must_ exist to protect person and property and to act as a neutral arbitrator of disputes. Without a government the concept of "might makes right" would replace individual freedom as the primary rule of social interaction. We feel the National Platform reflects Libertarian principles. However it calls for unrealistic changes in government and society and several portions threaten the security of the United States. The Real World Libertarian Caucus exists to make the Libertarian Party a viable political party. We will move public policy in a Libertarian direction through a moderate mainstream message that is more attractive to the American voter than the dogmatic and extreme messages put forth by Libertarian purists. We will work to make fundamental changes to the LP platform and bylaws at the state and national level that will further our vision of small and open government for America. Who are we? The Real World Libertarians were founded by Chris Farris, Robbie Honerkamp and Joe Henchman in 2004 to act as a venue for moderate libertarians who don't always march in lockstep to the party platform. We believe the LP must have electoral successes and to accomplish that we must work to make our beliefs palatable to the general public. Organization There is no formal organizational structure to the Real World Libertarian Caucus. We have a national mailing list and spawn off local chapters where a critical mass of members exist. Good Candidate Resources National Libertarian Party Resources Techniques for Effective Campaigning Candidate Recruitment Manual Libertarian Volunteer More campaign related articles Libertyworks is a professional political consulting firm owned and operated by Libertarians for Libertarians. It is a One-Stop Shop for all your political needs from strategy and message down to magnets and signs. We provide advertising, planning, training, fundraising, direct mail, websites, and promotional materials. Programs The Real World Libertarian Caucus has developed these programs to outline our current policy proposals. These programs are intermediate in scope and focus on current issues. Federal Program Model State Program (coming soon!) Party Program (coming soon!) Position Papers The FairTax A proposal to repeal all Income, Capital Gains, Corporate and Social Security taxes and replace it with a National Retail Sales Tax. It will also repeal the 16th amendment. Links * Libertarian Reform Caucus